Child custody in Nebraska

What the law tells the judge to look at

In the order the law lists them.

1. A parenting plan that provides for the child's safety, emotional growth, health, stability, physical care, and regular school attendance and progress.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(1)
2. If the evidence shows domestic intimate partner abuse, a parenting and visitation arrangement that keeps the victim parent safe.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(2)
3. That the child's families and others in parenting roles stay appropriately involved, with safe, continuing, quality contact, when they have shown they can act in the child's best interest and have shared in raising the child.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(3)
4. Even if the parents agreed on a plan, the judge decides whether it is best for the parents to keep communicating and make joint decisions. If the judge rejects a plan, the judge must explain why in writing.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(4)
5. Parent education and mediation follow certain principles: reduce harm from parental conflict, give parents tools, offer less adversarial options, make sure the child's voice is heard, keep family members safe, and in abuse cases focus on victim safety and offender accountability.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(5)
6. The child's relationship with each parent before the case started or before any later hearing.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(6)(a)
7. The child's wishes, if the child is old enough to understand, no matter the exact age, and the wishes are based on sound reasoning.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(6)(b)
8. The child's general health, welfare, and social behavior.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(6)(c)
9. Credible evidence showing increased intellectual and social growth in children who have equal access to both parents.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(6)(d)
10. Credible evidence of abuse of any family or household member.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(6)(e)
11. Credible evidence of child abuse or neglect, or domestic intimate partner abuse.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923(6)(f)

Other things the judge considers

• The state presumes the parent-child relationship is critically important, and the child's relationship with each parent should be weighed equally unless that is against the child's best interest. The child's safety comes first when there is abuse or unresolved parental conflict.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2921
• A registered sex offender (for certain offenses), a person convicted of certain sex crimes, or a person living with certain registered sex offenders cannot get custody or unsupervised time unless the judge finds no significant risk to the child and explains why. A person convicted of sexual assault that led to the child's conception cannot get custody or parenting time unless the custodial parent consents.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2933
• If there is a protection order and abuse is alleged, the order must set the exact time, day, place, and way of exchanging the child, and keep a shelter's location secret. The judge must consider whether visits should be supervised, suspended, or denied.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2934
• In developing a parenting plan, the judge considers the child's age, developmental needs, and point of view, and how to build healthy relationships with each parent.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2929(5)

What the judge may not consider

The judge cannot prefer either parent because of the parent's sex or disability, and (except for the sex offender rules) there is no presumption that either parent is more fit (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-364(2)).

Joint custody

No presumption. The judge can order joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both, if the parents agree in their parenting plan and the judge finds it is in the child's best interest, or if the judge finds after a hearing that joint custody is in the child's best interest even without the parents' agreement.

The child's wishes

The judge considers the child's wishes if the child is old enough to understand (there is no set age) and the wishes are based on sound reasoning. The child's view is also considered when making the parenting plan.

Domestic violence

If the evidence shows a parent committed child abuse or neglect, child abandonment, or domestic intimate partner abuse, or kept interfering with the other parent's time (except to protect the child or someone else), the judge must set limits to protect the child and the other parent. Limits can include sole custody to the other parent, supervised visits, safe exchanges, no overnights, no alcohol or drugs, or a bond. That parent cannot get legal or physical custody unless the judge makes special written findings that the child and other parent can be protected, and that parent must prove the custody or time will not endanger them. Domestic intimate partner abuse includes a pattern of assault, threats, stalking, emotional or economic abuse, isolation, or using the child to control the other parent.

Who has custody before a court order

Nebraska statutes do not say who has custody before a court order when parents are not married.

Establishing paternity

How

Unmarried parents can sign a notarized Acknowledgment of Paternity, usually at the hospital, and file it with DHHS Vital Records. Either signer can cancel it within 60 days, or earlier if there is a court or agency case about the child. After that it is a legal finding of paternity and can be challenged only for fraud, duress, or a material mistake of fact, or with genetic test results in limited cases. You can also file a Complaint for Paternity, Custody, Parenting Time, and Child Support (form DC 6:8.3) in District Court. A parent must file a paternity case within 4 years after the child's birth (the child's guardian or the state has up to 18 years).

Form

Acknowledgment of Paternity (notarized; DHHS form)

Cancellation form

Rescission within 60 days (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-1409(2))

Agency

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Vital Records and Child Support
https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Child-Support-Paternity.aspx

Changing an order

You start by filing a Complaint for Modification in the county where the order was entered, and the case is sent to mediation unless the judge waives it. The judge can change custody or the parenting plan only if there has been a material change in circumstances since the last order (something that, had the court known, would have led to a different ruling) and the change is in the child's best interest. A change in a parent's status as a registered sex offender or a related conviction is enough to ask for a change.

Law: Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 42-364(6), 43-2933(3); Nebraska Judicial Branch self-help: Modification of Custody or Parenting Plan

If the other parent does not follow the order

If a parent unreasonably withholds or interferes with court-ordered parenting time, you can file a motion with a sworn affidavit. After notice and a hearing, the judge must make the orders needed to enforce your rights, which can include changing the parenting time order. The judge can use contempt of court, can require a bond to make sure the order is followed, and can make a parent found in contempt pay costs and attorney fees.

Law: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-364.15

Grandparent visitation

Yes. A grandparent can ask for visitation only if a parent has died; the parents' marriage was dissolved or a divorce is pending; or the parents were never married but paternity has been legally established. The grandparent must prove by clear and convincing evidence that there is or was a significant beneficial relationship with the child, that continuing it is in the child's best interest, and that visits will not harm the parent-child relationship. File in District Court in the child's county (or in the court that handled the divorce). The order can be changed if there is a material change in circumstances.

Custody and visitation in the order

Yes. The order can give you temporary custody of your minor children for up to 90 days, and must say how many days. There is no filing fee.